THE GILBERT SYSTEM 



OF 



ORCHARD PLANTING 



BY 



RALPH D. GILBERT 



BOSTON 
COPYRIGHTED S913 BY RALPH D. GiL.BLRT 



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THE GILBERT SYSTEM 



OF 



ORCHARD PLANTING 



BY 



RALPH D. GU.BERT 

II 



BOSTON 
1913 



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The Gilbert System of Orchard Planting 

BY 

Ralph D. Gilbert 



The advantages of this system of planting are that it allows 
the land to be more fully occupied all the time than when the 
trees are planted in squares, and that the thinning ma}" be done 
as needed, without spoiling the final symmetry of the orchard. 
On the scale shown the original trees are planted so that each 
is 20 feet distant from six others, thus forming a hexagon and 
in the mature orchard each tree will be 40 feet distant from six 
others. In square planting forty feel apart there are 21 trees to 
the acre while in hexagonal planting there are ZZ trees. If the 
six additional trees produce three barrels of apples each it adds 
18 barrels to the acre which at $3.00 per barrel means an increase 
of $54.00 per acre per year; an item worth considering. It 
makes provision for cross pollenization of two varieties, which 
is very important, and is so arranged that the number of trees in 
the permanent orchard may be equally divided between two 
varieties, or if one variety proves to be much more profitable 
than the other, the trees of that variety may predominate. No 
man can say today, which variety would be the most profitable 
to grow in 1930, and planted in this way, you have an option on 
varieties until about 20 years after the orchard is planted. The 
"fillers" may cost 30c. each and 20c. to set them, but in 8 3"ears 
they have paid for themselves, and the following 8 years they 
should be very profitable. 

A setting board like the one shown on the following page 
from bulletin #141, of the Vermont Agricultural Experiment 
Station will be found convenient to use to make sure that the 
tree when set, shall stand in exactly the place indicated b}" the 
stake before the hole was dug. 

In staking out the orchard, the stakes for a certain number 
of units should be stained or painted to correspond with colors on 
circles of diagram to insure against confusion and misplacing of 
varieties w^hen setting the trees. It is also advisable to set all the 
trees of one variety in a given area before bringing the other vari- 
eties into the field, planting varieties indicated by red and blue 
circles before planting green. 




LOCATING PLANTING BOARD STAKES 




LOCATING TREE BY PLANTING BOARD 



Digitized by the Internet Archive 
in 2010 with funding from 
The Library of Congress 



http://www.archive.org/details/gilbertsystemofoOOgilb 



DESCRIPTION OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 



The planting board is used to insure planting the trees in 
exactly the place where the stakes stood when laying out the 
orchard. The notch should be cut half across the board and in 
line with the end holes and exactly half way between them. 
After staking out the field place the planting board against the 
stakes as shown in the upper cut and drive two stakes of the 
same color through the end holes. The board and center stake 
may now be removed and the hole dug or dynamited. After 
the hole is ready to receive the tree, slip the planting board back 
in place and by holding the tree in the center notch where the 
original stake first stood you will get the tree located exactly 
right. Instead of having holes in the ends of the board and 
cutting all marking stakes to a small diameter it is often more 
convenient to cut a notch in each end of the board and drive the 
marking stakes in the notches but in that case be sure that the 
notches come exactly in the center of the board and not nearer 
to one edge than the other. 



DIAGRAM SHOWING LOCATION OF STAKES 
AND METHOD OF STAKING. 



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To stake out a field for planting, lay out a row, being very careful to have 
it straight and exactly at right angles with one side of the field. Drive small 
stakes along this row, one every twenty (20) feet. Three men with a wire or 
chain forty (40) feet long with a ring on either end and a ring in the middle can 
then lay out the next row very easily by the end men holding their rings on 
stakes in the first row, the third man simply pulling both chains ti.eht and driv- 
ing his stake. Repeat this operation for all the rest of the rows. If the land is un- 
even, care should be taken to hold the chains level. Occasional "sighting" may be 
necessary to keep the rows exactly straight in every direction. The lines in 
the lower left hand corner illustrate how the field may be staked out. The 
straight lines in the center of the diagram show how to sight the trees to get the 
rows straight in every direction It pays to spend time to have all the rows 
of trees straight in every direction not only because the^^ look better but they 
are much easier to cultivate. 



COMPLETE ORCHARD AS FIRST PLANTED. 



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The outline represents a square acre. Dashed lines represent boundaries of 
units. This plan is drawn to scale so that every tree is twenty (20) feet 
distant from six other trees set on the corners of a hexagon. Each unit contains 
six (6) blue and six (6) red and four (4) green. The acre contains one hundred 
and twenty-six (126) trees. 

Let the blue represent Baldwins, the red Mcintosh and the green some early 
maturing variety, like the Wealthy; or the poorest trees of both Baldwin and 
Mcintosh maybe set in the green circles as these are removed in :he first thinning, 
so have no permanent place in the orchard. 



ORCHARD AFTER FIRST THINNING 
15 TO 18 YEARS FROM PLANTING 








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Trees fifteen (15) to eigrhteen (18) years old. In removing- the trees represent- 
ed by green, we have removed a tree from two sides of every tree that is left. 

Each unit now contains six (6; red and six (6) blue. The acre contains 
ninety-six (96) trees, now is the time to decide which variety you want to _ have 
predominate. When thinning this arrangement if you know which variety is the 
most profitable for you to grow, cut so that \(ju can have an orchard with that 
variety predominating, or with an equal number of each variety if there is then 
no difference in their value. You must decide this question now as further thin- 
nings are along distinctly different schemes as you will note as you read along. 
Compare page 7 with page 10. 



ORCHARD AFTER SECOND THINNING. 
(OPTIONAL THINNIXG AT SAME PERIOD SHOWN ON PAGE 10) 














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This arrangement may be thinned to half and half, or to three (3) blue to 
one (l) red as shown on pages 8 and 9. 

Each unit contains three (3) red and five (5) blue. 
The acre contains sixty- three (63) trees. 



MATURE ORCHARD. (Thinked to an Equal Number of Each Variety, 
Following the Second Thinning as Shown on Page 7.) 



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Mature orchard in full bearing-. Each tree is forty feet distant from six 
other trees set on the corners of a hexagon. 

Each full unit contains an equal number of trees of each variety that is two 
(2) blue and two (2) red. 

The acre contains thirty (30) trees. 



MATURE ORCHARD. (Thinned to Proportion of 3 to 1 
Following the Second Thinning as Shown on Page 7. 




Mature orchard in full bearing. Each tree is forty feet distant from six other 
trees set on the corners of a hexagon. 

Each full unit contains three (3) blue and one (l) red. 
The acre contains thirty-three (33) trees. 



ORCHARD AFTER SECOND THINNING. 
(OPTIONAL THINNING AT SAME PERIOD SHOWN ON PAGE 7) 














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This arrangement may be thinned to half and half, or to three (3) red to one 
(1) blue. 

Each unit contains three (3) blue and five (5) red. 
The acre contains sixty- three (63) trees. 



10 



MATURE ORCHARD. (Thinned to an Equal Number of Each Variety, 
Following the Second Thinning as Shown on Page 10.) 




Mature orchard in full bearing-. Each tree is forty feet distant from six 
other trees set on the corners of a hexag-on. 

Each full unit contains two (2) blue and two (2) red. 
The acre contains thirty (30) trees. 



11 



MATURE ORCHARD. (Thinned to Proportion of 3 to 1 
Following the Second Thinning as Shown on Page 10. 




Mature orchard in full bearing-. Each tree is forty feet distant from six other 
trees set on the corner of a hexag^on. 

Each full unit contains three (3) red and one (l) blue. 
The acre contains thirty- three (33) trees. 



12 



PB 9 1911 



